Can what you eat create world peace?

Monday

Nov 4, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Anne Mazar

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"The World Peace Diet," written by Will Tuttle, promises a lot, but differs from many trendy fad diet books. The diet involves a powerful philosophy, promoting health, sustainable living and compassion through eating a plant-based diet.

Tuttle says he would sum up his message as, "Respect for all life." Since 1995, Tuttle and his wife, Madeleine, have been on a constant traveling road show spreading this message.

Tuttle makes a compelling argument that what we eat affects our health, well-being, kindness to other humans and all creatures, and the environment. It even affects society and, well, world peace.

It is almost taboo to talk about where our animal food products come from and how they get to our plate. There have been bills introduced in several states to prohibit cameras in slaughterhouses and factory farms. The Animal Welfare Act protects animals from cruel and abusive practices, unless they are animals raised for food.

It is a hidden side of the food industry, where the treatment of animals is disturbing, and many of us would rather turn a blind eye. Tuttle says by ignoring this, we become numb to the violence. He believes, "switching to a plant-based diet for ethical reasons is the first in a spiritual adventure that blesses the world."

Tuttle draws an eerie connection between what we do to billions of animals each year in the U.S. for food and the ills of society. In the wild, animals have complex lives and social relationships. Since each animal is viewed as a profitable unit, the standard practice on meat, egg and dairy farms is to quickly take babies away from the mothers, much to the distress of the mothers and their young.

In our society, we are seeing the breakdown of the family unit. Many female food animals are given hormones so that they become pregnant at an unnaturally early age to speed up the production of their meat or milk. The parallel is seen with girls in the U.S. reaching puberty at younger ages.

At factory slaughterhouses, the assembly line moves at a fast pace. Firsthand experiences from slaughterhouse employees and undercover film footage reveal that it is not rare for animals to be skinned and dismembered while they are frantically struggling to free themselves and still conscious. We live with terrorism and graphic violence in our media, homes and streets.

Animals raised for food are often confined, and fed diets, drugs and hormones to make them unnaturally fat. We eat "cheap" junk food and don't exercise enough, leading to a staggering obesity problem in our country. Tuttle writes, "The great irony is that by ignoring, trivializing and repressing the intelligence and feelings of the animals, we have actively reduced our own intelligence."

The environmental costs are also great. Animals raised on Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) live in polluted and toxic environments from their excrement and our soil, air and water is becoming increasingly contaminated. In the report, The Hidden Costs of CAFOs, by the nonprofit group the Union of Concerned Scientists, it is estimated that the cost to clean up the contaminated soil under every U.S. hog and dairy CAFO would approach $4.1 billion.

Beyond the soil, ammonia in the manure contributes to air pollution. Leakage from massive unmanageable manure lagoons pollute groundwater with nitrogen and pathogens, cause fish kills and helped to create dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, where no marine life can live.

Tuttle takes the ubiquitous expression, "You are what you eat" to another level, describing eating as one of the most intimate acts we partake in, ingesting the essence of our food and literally making it a part of our being. For example, by eating confined and terrorized animals from factory farms, we are bringing the violence and fear into our own bodies.

As Robert Louis Stevenson has been quoted, "Everybody, soon or late (sic), sits down to a banquet of consequences."

In a 2010 interview in Hawaii, Madeleine Tuttle said, "Going vegan is so delicious ... . The best part is that I can celebrate each meal ... . It's creating peace ... . It's really on our plates to do something. ... If you want to leave a planet for our children, then do something right now ... . With global warming, we don't have time."

Will Tuttle will be speaking at the Natural Living Expo in Marlborough, Mass. at noon Nov. 16. Tickets are $35, and include admission to the expo. For details, visit www.naturalexpo.org. To learn more about The World Peace Diet, visit www.worldpeacediet.org.

Anne Mazar is an environmental advocate and a member of the Mendon Land Use Committee.

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